LOGINALPHONCE’S POVGloria kept talking, her voice a dull echo in the background. But I wasn’t listening anymore.My mind was lost, dragged somewhere else, to my mate, Clara.I remembered the one time I’d asked about her parents. I had told her we should visit them together.She had smiled faintly, eyes soft with sadness, and said they lived far away. Then she looked away quickly, pretending to fix her hair before changing the topic.Her eyes… they always glowed when she was happy.And that long, shiny black hair, like a curtain of night flowed down her back. I could almost feel it brushing against my fingers again.I swallowed hard, my fists clenching at my sides as a harsh realization struck me like lightning.Clara’s jet-black hair.The way she looked away when she was uncomfortable.The way she played with her fingers when nervous.How she pretended to be strong even when she was breaking inside.My throat tightened painfully. All those traits, every single one of them, I had seen befo
ALPHONCE’S POV“Why would you do that?” My voice cracked, fury trembling beneath my skin. “And the way Father loved you…”I just couldn’t understand this woman. My father adored her, trusted her, and yet she went ahead and killed him too.“B–because I… I was greedy,” Gloria stammered, her voice quivering, “b–because I wanted the power… and the money.”I blinked at her, disbelief burning in my chest. That was it? Power and money?She spoke as if a heavy stone had been lifted off her chest, as though she had waited all her life for this moment to confess, to gloat, to cleanse her wicked soul with words.“But you couldn’t be Alpha,” she continued, her cracked lips curling in a bitter smile. “You never listened to me. That’s why I supported Alexander, brought him closer.”Her breath hitched. She turned away slowly, pain or maybe guilt twisting her face. “I knew if Alexander, who was loyal and loved me, who accepted me as his mother, got the power, I would be the one whose word would be th
ALPHONCE’S POVFor years, this woman had thought I always made empty threats, that I couldn’t do anything to her. And now, she was flinching like a rained-on kitten, trembling with the realization that her pride couldn’t save her anymore.“Forgive me…” she whimpered.“Forgive you?” I repeated slowly, my voice sharp enough to cut. “How ironic that you’re begging now just like my mate did.”“She begged too, but you didn’t listen to...”Thud! Before I could finish, Gloria jerked forward like someone possessed and swung the silver chain at me. It hit my chest hard, the pain burning through my ribs and sinking deep toward my heart.“Tsk, tsk, tsk,” I clicked my tongue, my face cold and motionless despite the pain. “So, you still want to fight?”Her breath hitched. The confidence she had moments ago shattered, but I could still see the flicker of defiance in her eyes.“It’s a fight you want?” I asked, my tone low and dangerous. “Then let’s see what you’ve got.”“No-no, please don’t do this!
ALPHONCE’S POV“Good evening, stepmother?” A smile crept onto my lips, a smile that never reached my eyes.The sound of my voice made her body jolt violently. Gloria whimpered, trembling like a snake trapped in a corner as she slowly turned her head.“Y–YOU!” she shrieked when her eyes met mine. Her pupils dilated, her face pale, and her mouth hung wide open in disbelief.I only smiled wider and stepped closer so she could see me clearly.“Good job,” I muttered to my men for the second time that day, something I rarely did. Both bowed slightly before leaving. They knew my praise wasn’t just a compliment; it carried another meaning, one only my men and I understood.When the door closed behind them, my gaze returned to the woman dangling in front of me. Gloria once elegant, proud, and untouchable, now hung like meat at a butcher’s stall. Her legs were bound with silver chains attached to the ceiling, her body upside down, and her hair, once styled to perfection, now a tangled mess. The
ALPHONCE'S POVThe dark sedan shuddered to a stop outside the grocery store. Two hulking figures slipped from the backseat masks stretched over their faces, and moved with a butcher's certainty. They fell on the woman as if she were the only thing standing between them and the night hands clamped to wrists, arms locked tight. She had been smiling at the seller, fingers flicking through vegetables like a queen too used to being waited on. The maids trailed behind with trolleys, obedient and pale, their eyes wide as coin-purses.“How dare you...” Her protest strangled off when she saw them. The smile dissolved into an animal sound, half-cry, half-scream. Gloria’s gaze hit ours and everything in me tightened, the world narrowing to the white of her eyes and the swift, practiced cruelty of my men.“Help me!” Her voice ripped across the parking lot, raw and high. She clawed at air, at the metal of the car. One of the men pulled a cloth from his pocket and slapped it over her mouth; it mu
ALPHONCE POVI stared at the screen again and again, my eyes burning each time I looked at her smile and the way she held my hand in that picture.Who said men couldn't cry?I tried, for the umpteenth time, to push the tears back, but they came anyway.“She wouldn't want to see you like this, sir,” the voice said, softer than usual. I sighed and slid my phone into my jacket pocket.“Any news?” I turned to one of my trusted men, Rophas.“I-I’ve got something, sir, but I don't think you’ll like it…”“Let's see.” I cut him off. He hesitated, then handed me his phone as if offering something dangerous. I regarded him with suspicious eyes, wondering why he would give it to me, but he didn’t flinch, so I took it.No password. The video was already playing.“P-please, Alexander, please don’t do this!” The voice lodged itself in my head, it was Clara’s, thin and pleading, the sound I had unknowingly learned to carry with me.“Y-you are my brother-in-law, and a twin to my husband, then why wou







